Garden

I have failed to take pictures of any yummy dinners or baked goods. Partially because there were none and because anything I did make, I wasn’t impressed with myself. Hopefully, when summer break is here I will have more time and creative energy for yummy things!

One new project I have started is a backyard garden. I am very new and learning as I go. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time. I have had some potted veggies here and there but nothing to this extent. I have done a little research and have gotten a wide variety of items. I have basically dove in head first!

I have big plans in my head but I want to wait and see how this area goes before I break my back again! We have a lot of “dead space” in our large yard. Besides occupying the dog poop and weeds we have not utilized its potential. I’m thinking raised beds, trellises, fruit trees. A mini oasis! But that is a 5 year plan.

Our soil is a very heavy clay. I have mixed in some sand and compost/manure into the soil. Easter weekend I did the initial tilling. We have lots of rocks! I am unsure of the location because it is next to a tree but I feel like the plants will literally fry to death if I move it into our waste land area. This area stays cooler in the summer and receives the most water when it rains. Also, a big plus, there was nothing growing in this area. No weeds to worry about! This past week I was grocery shopping an noticed all the plants HEB Plus had on clearance and went crazy. This weekend I scoped out Lowes and Hope Depot. I was a little disappointed because it seemed that HEB had a larger vegetable variety. I went ahead and planted some seeds of things I couldn’t find. If they don’t germinate in the next week or so I will do a starter kit inside and then try to transfer them.

I think one of the harder things I will have to deal with is patience. These things don’t sprout over night!

Here is Ethan “helping” in the garden!

Cinnamon Sugar Bread

There might have been a few times in my life when I’d obsess over a certain ingredient and until I have that one thing I can’t stop thinking about how I want to eat it! I know, that sounded just as creepy when I read that last sentence out loud. But it is true. Don’t judge! In January, I was hit with a cinnamon urge. It just sounded so warm and comfortable perfect for the end of winter. Maybe a slight wish that we were getting snow and needed a yummy warm treat with hot chocolate!

I started my Pinterest quest of finding a fantastic recipe that would solve all my problems. All the pictures looked so delicious, I was getting hungrier every day the search continued. However, I came across a problem. All the recipes I wanted to try had YEAST in them. Oh god, yeast is so scientific. It is so scary and blah! I have only attempted yeast recipes a couple of times and failed miserably. I didn’t know if my ego could take another deflated dough. It said warm water… Is this warm enough? Maybe I should buy a thermometer?…. It said wait an hour and double in size…. Is this double?… Should I measure the original circle?… There is flour everywhere! I decided that it was time. I needed to learn. Every great cook knows how to cook with yeast. Right?

By the time Spring Break rolled around I knew I would have time for a little learning experiment. So I bought A LOT of cinnamon and three yeast packets. I came across this recipe from Joy the Baker.

It sounded easy enough. I followed the recipe exactly. Which is pretty hard for me. I had ideas popping all over the place on how to change it. But I wanted that yummy picture. I also had a HARD time waiting for the dough to rise. But the boys successfully distracted me and I almost forgot about the bread.

It was good. SOOOOOOO freaking good. I might have burned my mouth on the bread from eating it right out of the oven but kept going. I might have ate half the loaf with a little help from the boys. I might have felt sick the rest of the day I didn’t eat lunch or dinner. I might have ate so much in one sitting I have erased the urge for anything cinnamon for quite awhile. Mission complete. I highly suggest that you try this recipe.

I flipped this sucker out of the pan so fast and snapped one shot. Then it was devoured.

If you remember, I said three packets of yeast. Tune in for the next yeasty recipe! I think I might of sparked a new baking urge. 🙂

Spring=Lemon

As I begin my blog I will be back tracking and trying to keep up with new items. We will see how well I can keep up. I also want a prettier background/general design of this blog but not willing to pay for anything until I know I can keep this little project going! With out further ado here is my first post:

 

Whenever spring time rolls around I love to incorporate lemon in as many ways as I can think of. I love me some lemon. Now, I had to do two batches with these cookies. They are definitely touchy when it comes to timing! 1 minute can make a world of difference! Also, as you follow along in the blog I borrow lots of recipes and like to tweak them the way I see fit.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com called Easy Sugar Cookies by Stephanie. My changes will be italicized.

 

What you will need:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large lemons

1 cup powder sugar

1 tablespoon milk

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add in the zest and juice of one large lemon. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
4. When cookies have completely cooled top with lemon glaze.

Directions for Lemon Glaze:

Mix together powder sugar, milk, zest and juice of one lemon. Stir until it has become smooth. add to cookies. I then added yellow sprinkles for fun! Enjoy 🙂